In the semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry, technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of IC processing and manufacturing.
One process that is often used in the semiconductor fabrication industry is a Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process. A CMP process involves polishing the surface of the wafer on a polish pad while applying a slurry solution. The slurry solution typically includes chemicals to help break up the surface of the wafer. The slurry solution also typically includes abrasive particles suspended within the slurry solution to provide mechanical forces to help break up the surface of the wafer. The purpose of the CMP process is to make the surface of the wafer as flat as possible. Thus, it is desirable to find methods to improve the CMP process to provide a more planar surface.